There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but they bear the hallmarks of Sunni extremist militants seeking to undermine confidence in Shi’ite-led government efforts to maintain security nationwide.

An Al Qaeda breakaway group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has been behind similar attacks in the past.

Iraq is experiencing a resurgence of violence to levels not seen since the worst of the country’s sectarian bloodletting began to subside in 2007.